Forest Grove council selects Truax as mayor

It's a fitting coincidence that Pete Truax has been living at Richard Kidd's home since last Friday.

Sure, the Truax house is undergoing some renovations, but with Truax shadowing the outgoing Forest Grove mayor for most of the days in the past week, why not see what home life is like as well?

After formally receiving notice Monday that Kidd was resigning as mayor effective Oct. 22, the Forest Grove City Council voted 5-0 to appoint Truax, the city council president, to the role of interim mayor. Truax and Kidd abstained from the vote.

Truax will serve as interim mayor until late next year, and said he is leaning toward running for a full four-year term in the 2010 election.

"If I were to say no, that would be a distinct surprise," he said.

While Truax has been shadowing Kidd, who has been mayor for 12 of the last 16 years, he said he won't share in the mayor's meeting management style. Kidd is a retired Army colonel; Truax is a retired English teacher at Forest Grove High School.

"I want to give people an opportunity to talk a little bit more," Truax said. "Sometimes Richard, being a former military man, sometimes he had a thought on how something was being run, and other people had thoughts, and he got a little difficult at times."

He also said he plans on being up-front with council members about his opinions, so they are aware of his perspectives going into a conversation.

Truax said he expects budget-related issues to dominate his time as interim mayor, with public safety, libraries and parks topics also requiring his attention. But Kidd implored Truax, and the rest of the council, to look beyond immediate concerns.

"What's so important to me is that the council work hard at not making decisions that are only good for the day after tomorrow, but the long term, 15 to 20 years," Kidd said. "I'm trying to help him guide the council into thinking about what Forest Grove needs to preserve in the future and what's in store as a community as the region continues to grow."

Coming up next for Forest Grove: appointment of a replacement for Truax on the city council -- applications accepted at city hall -- followed by appointing a new council president.